there’s been a lot of emphasis lately on communicating with library patrons by using social technologies like blogs, wikis, and rss. i am all for exploring new communication styles with our patrons, especially if they employ technology (geek alert). one thing that has been gnawing at me, though, is wondering how to make sure all the staff at my library are competent in existing (read: old) technologies before moving forward with formal training on the newer tools. without a working knowledge of older technologies the implementation of the 2.0 kinds of tools will be uneven in its success. knowing how to make a photocopy doesn’t have an obvious path to adding a note to a wiki, but i think there is a confidence gained from knowing one simple technology that allows somebody to be willing to explore a more difficult one.
i’ve gone back to some old notes and reminded myself that sarah houghton-jan has some very good insights on how to make sure all library staff are on the same page regarding technologies. she suggests that by having all of our library’s staff members get together to identify what tools and skills we need to do our jobs and then designing a training guide for ourselves, we should end up with a set of core competencies and a staff with improved confidence. when i saw her speak at the internet librarian conference a couple years ago she mentioned that the tools/skills don’t need to be difficult: how to answer the phone and transfer a call; how to buy a copy card and make a photocopy. she has written a technology report for ala on the topic [Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries, Library Technology Reports 43:2 (Mar/Apr 2007)].
